How Can It Be?

Where has this week gone? My days have been full; I've been doing exciting things like laundry and grocery shopping, but I didn't think it could be Thursday already! I lost an hour of my life yesterday trying to clean the grout in the shower. Any suggestions on how to defeat that stuff without so much elbow grease? UGH. And my folks arrive on Monday for a visit. That's not even a room they're going to see! You're not here to read a rant on cleaning or lost time, but thanks for letting me share. Let's get down to business.

Last night I was prepping materials for my Stamp-A-Stack this weekend, and it dawned on me at 7:30 that I had yet to make my brother-in-law's birthday card. His birthday is May 28, so that meant I had to get the card to the post office this morning on my way to work in order for it to have a prayer of getting there on time.

I've known for over a week what card I wanted to make. I'd seen this one by Stasia Sloma and wanted to put my own spin on it. But I had procrastinated and needed to work fast before I lost the ability to form a coherent thought, let alone a creative one. So I chose Bordering Blue because it's masculine and because it's retiring, paired it with Sahara Sand and Whisper White and got down to making a quick and easy card.

Sorry for the less than fantastic photo, but you get the idea. Disregard the semi-cockeyed WW layer too. It was stuck on too well for me to peel it off and I was beyond caring at that point. Besides Circle Circus, I also used a retired set from SAB called Congrats. I like how it turned out.

Now here's the rest of the story. I drove to work early (remember that I get up at 3:45a most mornings) to stick this and another birthday card in the mailbox. I worked my shift at Starbucks. On the way home, I call my sister to catch up and chat a bit. I ask her if she's doing anything special for him, since his birthday is this weekend. She paused and said, "It's not 'til JUNE 28, Jenn."

Nice.

Builder Wheel Birthday Card

Hey all! Happy Friday! SU! has a new product I want to give you the skinny on today. They're called Builder Wheels, and there are 6 styles available in the Summer Mini Catalog on pages 8 and 9. These wheels are designed to be used with the Jumbo Wheel handle. They make quick work of card making, and allowed me to create a great masculine birthday card. But first, a bit more detail on these wheels.

The wheels coordinate with each other and have two themes: friendship and birthday. The three I bought were the birthday set, which features Candle Crazy, Birthday, and So Many Stars. They do not have to be purchased as a set; they are available for mix and match. I liked the Candle Crazy so much that I bought 2 of that wheel and the Birthday wheel to create my border/main image.

The wheels must be purchased with a Builder Wheel Spindle and Spacer pack, which allows you to attach them to the handle. The spindle and spacers also allow you to use each wheel by itself (like I did for the envelope) or together as a set in the handle. You can purchase an uninked cartridge and juice it up with whatever reinker color you want, or you can roll it on an ink pad. Because of the length of the Birthday wheel's message, I would recommend the cartridge. All that said, I didn't use one for this project because I didn't remember I had any until after I was done! The cartridge insures even ink distribution without running out before you're done rolling.

Enough talk, here's the card! I used Not Quite Navy classic ink to roll the wheels. I started with a full, 8.5" width of Very Vanilla card stock because I wanted to get the entire "Happy Birthday to You" message to see how long it is. It's about 7", so I trimmed off the "to You" part and went with the rest as my main image.

Some quick coloring of the candles with Soft Suede and So Saffron, mounted it on Kraft and attached both layers to another mat of NQN that I used eyelets in the corners to allow me to thread Linen Thread through to create a frame. The Linen background stamp (retired) inked in SS helped add some texture to the VV base, and before I knew it, the card was complete.

My fellow partner at Starbucks and videographer Aldo had a birthday yesterday, so this card will circulate among us for wishes and be given to him next week. I think I'm doing pretty well with the manly birthday cards this month, but there's one more to go. Be looking for that next week--have a great weekend!

Miles to Go Before I Sleep

I'm sure my friends Cookie or Robin could tell me who the author is of this saying, but whoever he was, he spoke prophetically and correctly about my day! As I stare at the clutter on the dining room table, the dog hair tumbleweeds on the carpet, the folded, but as yet not put away laundry on the bed, the untidied kitchen, and the disastrous state of my crafting space, I can tell I've been on a tear for too long.

All that will need to be done and more card stock will need to be cut before tomorrow's SAS. I did get 4 cards made yesterday, but I'm growing weary, friends.

Okay, here's what I made yesterday. This first card is a CASE of Wendy Janson's layout, and I used Manchester Designer Series Paper. The color scheme for these patterned papers is Always Artichoke, Baja Breeze, Kraft, and Very Vanilla. I found her work perusing through the SAS gallery for cards made using the Party Hearty set. I hope you can see how versatile this set is, now that I've posted a few cards using it! I wrestled a bit with this color combination, but I like this card for a guy. Very masculine and quick and easy. The circle with "celebrate you" is heat embossed, which is a nice subtle detail. I contemplated using twine for some sort of embellishment, but it was too much. Simple is better!

The next card is a reprise of an origami shirt card we made at the June SAS. Here's the link to the instructions I found online. Once I refreshed my memory on how to make it, it went together fairly quickly, and I'm pleased with the results. Do you like the little pocket? There's a piece of Baja Breeze card stock inside for writing a little message. The sleeves have to be folded in in order for it to fit in the envelope, but I put instructions regarding that inside the card for whoever purchases it.

So, that covers the two masculine birthday cards, leaving the female ones. Should be easy, right? Fatigue is effecting my creativity, but I soldiered on last night. I have to tell you, though, that the temptation to plop down on the couch beside Bob and veg out in front of the TV was great. I resisted, though.

Here's another example of incognito retired InColors showing up in current papers. The Haiku Designer Series Paper has two sheets of borders, meant mainly for scrapbookers, I believe. This one seems to use Wild Wasabi. Perhaps these DPs are carryovers from last year or something. I don't care; they allow me to put this stash of card stock into play! With the base of WW decided and the panel large enough to serve as focal image, all that needed to be added was an appropriate sentiment. It's from Heard from the Heart (which always makes me think of sheep... as in "herd of"). The border picks up the colors of So Saffron and More Mustard that are in the panel.

I was uninspired to complete the female birthday category, so I picked up Baroque Motifs and made a bridal card. I don't have much experience with brides or weddings of late, so I did a little poking around online to find out what colors are popular in weddings these days. I read that jewel tones, which I used in my wedding, are making a comeback, but the author of the article quickly advised not to make the 'maids wear a dress in said colors. That's what I did, and I'm sure my 'maids weren't happy about it almost 20 years ago, so the advice is best heeded.

All that said, I went with Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip, since BB is the closest thing I have to Tiffany Blue that is all the rage. I really hope this card does not become popular, as it was a pain in the butt to make, but since I invested the better part of an hour on it, it's going in the pile! It's not a traditional card, but a postcard with an envelope. Found this beautiful sheer ribbon that matches perfectly at Michael's.

Well, that's the blow by blow from last night. I have 40 min. before I need to leave for work, so I'm going to try to go tackle something on the domestic front before I depart. We have corporate visitors today, so there'll be a little more than the usual level of stress at work today. I'm hoping it's over before I get there, but I probably won't be so fortunate. Happy FRIDAY!!